Stories matter—especially when you’re trying to grow a small business.
Whether you write compelling copy, create engaging video content, or launch a digital marketing campaign, your small business story is at the core of your strategy, which is why its mission is critical, to tell your story well, and partner with the right team who can help.
Storytelling is the driving force behind J&R Marketing, located in Smithfield. They are an integrated marketing agency that excels in telling a client’s story through various media. In addition to crafting narratives, they specialize in website design, photography, digital marketing, and a range of other services tailored to each client’s unique needs.
J&R Marketing’s founder, Joe Russo, said the reason for beginning his company was to help businesses grow.
“Starting the company was all about aiding businesses in their growth journey. I’ve always been passionate about the creative process, especially in branding and web design. My expertise started with lead generation and SEO, and my background and services really just grew from there,” Russo explained.
Russo’s marketing journey began modestly, starting from an entry-level role, and relying on self-education to navigate the field. He ventured into entrepreneurship by establishing a small lead generation company tailored for home improvement businesses. He sold that company before starting J&R Marketing.
The journey to building J&R Marketing was slow, but deliberate and purposeful. Russo juggled full-time roles at large companies and startups for over a decade. Notably, he was the director of operations for Teespring, a venture-backed apparel/tech company funded by Khosla Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. While he nurtured J&R Marketing on the side without any employees, it gradually gained momentum. Eventually, he transitioned to focus entirely on J&R Marketing, making it his full-time commitment in 2017.
It was the landscape during that time that drew him toward launching this endeavor.
“I’ve always treated my previous jobs and clients like my own business; it just felt natural to shift to J&R full-time to help more businesses. What truly drives me is passion. It bothered and still bothers me to see businesses being taken advantage of or receiving poor-quality or overpriced services. By hiring and training experts, I was able to add more services and ensure that we’re adding value to our clients,” Russo said.
He explained that many of their clients are often busy managing various aspects of their business or experiencing rapid growth. They hire their agency to handle anything and everything from their website, including marketing, advertising, video, social media, ads, printing, presentations, and more. While they specialize in a wide range of industries, businesses looking to rebrand, restructure, and/or take the next step of growth, is their sweet spot.
Regarding of the industry, which Russo admits is “very competitive,” he often sees two mistakes that small businesses frequently make:
- Not doing the small things right. Many times, businesses will focus on sales, without including the customer. Small things like following-up, sending a thank you letter, requesting a Google review, setting up an email signature, etc., – should all come well before spending thousands of dollars on a vehicle wrap, or investing heavily into marketing. His advice is to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run.
- Selecting the wrong agency or partner. When hiring an agency, website designer, or any outside marketing help, make sure their goals align with yours. Ensure that (the partner) can showcase their work or results. Connect with their current clients and make sure that their goals were accomplished by that partner, successfully. More importantly, if a contract is required – stay away. Contracts are almost always of the benefit of the agency, not the small business.
Regardless of the client or project—big or small—J&R Marketing strives to make the process simple and affordable.
“We’re always happy to handle one project or aspect of a business, such as just their website or just handling their custom apparel and printing. Additionally, we have many clients, where we handle everything, from design to web to print. We even have some clients, where we evaluate their contracts, manage their IT company, or advise them in other business areas. It all comes down to making sure we can help them run their business, and help them scale, and become or remain, profitable.”
Their office is located at 359 Putnam Pike, B4, in Smithfield. They have just recently expanded, and are taking on more clients for all services and products that they offer.
For more details about their products and services (including branding, website development, digital marketing, custom apparel, printing, and more), please visit their website at http://www.jandrmarketing.com/, or feel free to call them at 401-326-2932.
